Apparatus for shelling mollusks



J. H. DOXSEE, JR., ET AL 2,008,820

APPARATUS FOR SHELLING MOLLUSKS July 23, 1935.

Filed Sept. 19, 1933- 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTO JAME H WILLI M D SEE JR H-COOK ATT,6RNEYS July 23, 1935. J. H. DOXSEE, JR. ET AL 2,008,820

APPARATUS FOR SHELLING MOLLUSKS Filed Sept. 19, 1935 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS JAMES H- DOXSEE JR. WILLIAM H. COOK Patented July 23, 1935 1 v anoas zo 2,008,82lk-r A i' RA YFQ I ma k James a; Dance, Juana City, Flag ass'ignor's to Wmiam H; Cook,0ollier I. Fred :Fear 8:: Company,- 1 a r This invention relates to apparatus for opening mollusks'such as clams, oysters, mussela and other kinds of shell seafood and separating the meats fromthe shells. 7

An; object of the invention is to-provide a suitabledevice for shelling mollusks which will be efficient and economical in operation,

A further object of the invention s to, provide means forseparating meatszfrom the shells, which; may be operated as. a unitary part of the, opening device, and which will be automatic-in its;operation.

A feature of the invention is a steambox hav-. ing two compartments fed with the. same steam line, an opening in each compartmentthrough; which the product to be shelled may-besupplied to;the boxes alternatively by means oi; aswiveled chute, an opening for each, box through which. the opened shells may be removed-by force-oi; gravity, and means for collectingthe juice from the product which is being cooked in eitherbox. .Another feature of the invention is a pair of movable belts arranged side. by side, andmea'ns for agitating the product to separatethe from-the shells, and conveying the shellstq a desired location alonEI'Qne belt, and the meats to a desired location alongthe otherbelt. In the drawings similar reference numerals referto similar parts in all of the figures.

Figure 1 is. a side elevation of the steamvbox, showing an endless elevator and a belt for conveying. the productto the steamy box, and a belt for conveying the product away from the boxafter the shells haveopenedr Fig. 2 is a plan view of the device of Fig. 1, and shows in. addition, the arrangement of;belts.for separating the meats from theopened shells; I a Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the apparatus showninFigs -1and2; Fig. 4 is aplan view of the double'belts for conveying the-product from the box, and shows the arrangement for, shufiling the product and separating the meats from theshells; and 7 Y Fig. 5 is a cross section along the line 5- -5- of Fig. 1 lookingvin the-direction of the arrows. v v

The apparatus may be located at the edgeof a body of water in which the seafood of the. type described may be obtained, or at any other desired location. The product is brought to the apparatus, and it-may be raised in an elevator I and deposited'on an endless belt 2, the upper-side of which is moving toward a steam box 3. A stream of water maybe played on the product as it is raised on the elevator; to wash it; Channel guides 4 keep the, product from ramnaofi thebeltl. V

On belt '4 the pr'o ductis conveyed to" a chutei, towhichis pivoted atfia second chute '1 which; as indicatefcln'iorejclearly in Fig fl may'be swung over 'either of two openings] in the steam box 7 to deposit the product in either compartment of 5:

the ox a. a Thejs am box} comprises ametallic casing 4l,

which maylbe jmadej o f stainless steel or other suitablefinetal ericlcseiwithih a strong frame-' work 42 of, well: seasoned wood, which is secured 1pc by tierods'8" andfranie members 43'. The box' is set at. an fan gleof approximately 45 and the openin s hro ghiwhich. i lisfill e lac d, nearthe upper'end qfgthebox so'that the box is filled. with end-of t v x .isftapred'and enclosed by two doors'and llfl, which are secured in position by fastening'means, Ill, After one compartment has been filled the chute ill will be, swung. OVQI' to the otheri'ppening I The openings are provided with covers I {and ls which maybe secured in position-by securing] means Hi and I5, as is bestshown in 3; [After the boxlis filled with the product the cover is closed andsecured in position. v f'hfsteam line lfi su'p'plies' steam to ithercom: na tment by mean oi bra c e IT n 8, i s, 2 3, and the branches of, the steam lineare prmrided, respectively, with valves [9 and 2 0. A ter? a compartment a ubeen fi e t e team valve is, opened and stearii' aldmitted to. this com- I twenty minutes, YIZAS the product with which the compartment is 'filled, and the compartment itself, ,wf llvbe relatively cool, there will be for a while a considerable condensation of steam. Outlets 2| and 1'42, are provided through which the condensed steam' may be allowed to escape, The wooden framework supplies suitable insulation to retain the heat jduring the steaming operation.

.[After about ten' minutesthe compartment and its contents will be'thoroughly heated, andthe shells will beginto open. Due] to the insulating firamework there willth'en be little steam condensedinj thebox, but there will be a consider- "able flow-oi juice-from the outlet 2| or 22, depending upon which compartment is in use, and

thisjulce may be collected in any suitable man- "steam, this willbe pure juice.

At the ,end 1 approximately twenty minutes the shellsfwill all be openedfand the steam may be shut-oil by means 'otvalveiH or 20 and the door 8 or Jlll opened,IA chute 23 is provide'dto receive the product as it leaves the box and convey it a moving belt which carriesit away the product'lby gravity, The lower 15 as shown, and is raised about one inch from the? surface of the belt 24. Any meats which r become separated from the shells up to this point pass under the diverting member 29 andiremain; on the belt 24, while the empty shells and the' shells still containing meats are shunted b'y member 29 onto belt 25. The belt 25, which ,is level with the belt 24 and side by side therewith, is moving in the same direction as the belt 24. The I shells therefore move along the belt 25 tO Shuflling member 30.

The member is similar to the member 29 except that it does not extend all the way across In the process of being shunted from: belt 24 to belt 25 by member 29 the product is, of course, shuffled to a considerable extent and the belt 25.

many of, the meats fall out. The member'fll' is raised about one inch from the surface 015 belt 25 to permit the separated meats to pass thereunder, while the shells are diverted, to the narj-, row passages between the end of member 30. and wall 26, and completely shuffled so that the meats remaining in the shells at this point will fall out. The shells and meats on belt 25 continue their progress. along the belt until they reach a second diverting member 3 I. This member is also raised about one inch from the surface of belt25 to'per mit the meats to pass thereunder, but the shells are all diverted'by this member so they 'fall' off the belt 25, through the opening in thewall 28 shown, into a suitable receptacle which maybe prepared to receive them. The meats pass under the diverting member 3| along the belt 25 until they come to a third diverting member 32. This member 32, unlikethe previous diverting members and shufliing member 30, is placed flush with the belt 25 so that the meats cannot pass thereunder. They are, therefore, at this point diverted back to belt 24 through the opening'in wall. shown and pass along belt 24 to its, end 'whe'rejthey fall'off into a suitable receptacle which'may be prepared to receive them at 'this"poin t.,

As the product emerges fromithe steam1com5- partments there will of course be considerable moisture from the steamand juice accompanying it. A trough 38 may, therefore, be provided un; derneath the belts 24 and 25 to catch the' moisture and discharge it through anioutl'et 3 9. In the embodiment of the device shown the belts 24 and 25 are illustrated as carrying the product away from the steam box at right angles to. the fiow of the product onto the belt. rt ,wi1 or course be understood that these'belts',may1be placed in line' with the flow of the product'fro'm the steam box if desired, and in aparticularembodiment of the device which has operated "successfully this arrangement is used. The drawings have been made, however to illustrate anarrangement in which the product taken away from the box at right angles for convenience of illustration. The elevator l, belts, steam box, etc., are of course all mounted on a suitable frame, as indicatedin the drawings but not specifically referred to by reference numeral. The movi ng parts are actuated by suitable means (not shown).

and may be driven by steam from the same boiler which supplies the steam box.

In the operation of this device it is necessary to prevent shell fragments from being broken from the product handled, as these fragments would pass under the diverting members 29 and 3| and be mixed with the meats in the final product It may therefore bedesirableto provide a cushion on which the product is to drop at such points as the interior of the compartments where theproduct enters, and at exit chute 23. Such cushions may be fastened to the apparatus at the proper positionin any suitable manner, and may be made of rubber, or any other suitable material. It. is desirable of course to clean the compart- -ments of .the steam box periodically. For this steam compartments."

An advantage of the duel compartment ar-' rangement is that while one'compartment is being emptied the other compartment may be filled and the contents steamed. Thus a reasonably steady fiowof the cooked product maybe maintained alon'g" the separating belts. Of

course additional compartments may be provided, if desiredfa'ndthe number of compartments, rateof supply of the elevator I, and rate of 'dischargeof theproduct from the compartments, may all be regulated for optimum operat-' ing conditions.

' What is'claimed is:

1.4 device for separating the shells from the meats of opened mollusks which comprises two belts'movingflside' by side',mea'ns for supplying one belt with the product, means for shunting the shells to the second 'belt'while' permitting the separated meats to'remain on the first belt, means for shuflling the shells on said second belt, means for removin'g the 'sh'lls'from said second belt while permitting the separated meats to remain on said'second'belt, and means for'shunting the meats on said second belt back to said first belt.

'25 Adevi'ce for separating the shells from the meats of opened mollusks comprising a plurality of' belts, means for shuffling said mollusks to permit the meats to separate from the shells,'and means for directing'the shells-to one'belt and the meats to anotherbelti Y I 3. A device for separating'the shells from the meatsv of opened mollusks comprising a pair of belts, a shunting member raised from the surface of the first belt, a sl iuiliingmember raised from the surface of the second belt,'a diverting'member raised from the surface of the second belt, and a second diverting member flush with the surface of said second belt; j

*4. Ii -combination with a'steam box having a deliveryopening therein, a pair of belts adjacent the shells'to' one belt and the meats to another 'beltk 6. Means for separating'the shells from the meats of clams and'the like comprising a steam -box,'-mans=for supplying clams and the like to the doors33'and 34" and clean the interior of the said box, means forsupplying steam to said box, a pair of belts, means for delivering the clams and the like from said box to said belts, means for shufiling said clams and the like to permit the meat to separate from the shells, and means to direct the shells to one location and the meats to another location.

7. A device in accordance with claim 6 in which there are a plurality of steam boxes arranged to deliver their contentsto the pair of 

